CDC: Airborne Ebola possible but unlikely

7 Oct, 2014

CDC Director Tom Frieden, who is unofficially leading the U.S. response to Ebola says the virus becoming airborne is a possible but unlikely outcome in the current epidemic:

The rate of change [with Ebola] is slower than most viruses, and most viruses don’t change how they spread. That is not to say it’s impossible that it could change [to become airborne]. That would be the worst-case scenario. We would know that by looking at … what is happening in Africa. That is why we have scientists from the CDC on the ground tracking that.

The disease kills roughly half the people it infects, and lacking a vaccine or cure, its traceable chain of transmission through bodily fluids is one reason officials believe they can contain it.

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